OPG reports good performance at aging plant
Jan 31, 2010 - 04:30 AM
By Reka Szekely
PICKERING -- Ontario Power Generation reported a good year in 2009 at its Pickering B plant, but there's still no word on whether the four reactors will be refurbished or mothballed.
The Pickering B units are nearing the end of their service lives and OPG is considering refurbishing the four units to extend them into 2050 to 2060. A decision from OPG's board was expected in 2009.
At last week's Pickering Community Advisory Council, Pickering B senior vice-president Paul Pasquet addressed the issue.
"No decision, no announcement, I don't have a precise time line for when that may occur," he said, adding that though no decision had been made, OPG is continuing the work necessary to make a refurbishment possible.
In January 2009, the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission announced it had accepted the environmental assessment for the refurbishment and concluded the plant's continued operation would not cause significant adverse environmental effects. Then in September, OPG completed the Integrated Safety Report for Pickering B, determining the more than 25-year-old plant has a high level of compliance with modern building codes and standards.
Now, it is up to the OPG board to determine whether it has a good business case for the refurbishment.
Though he couldn't comment on the future, Mr. Pasquet said Pickering B performed well financially in 2009, with the cost to produce energy being the best in half a decade. Costs for the year came in $1 million under budget, he added.
Some of the other successes highlighted include a reduction in the maintenance backlog. The planned two-month outage for Unit 6 in Pickering B was completed two days ahead of schedule and on budget.
And 5.5 million hours were worked without a lost-time accident. Mr. Pasquet said although that's a good number, he thinks the plant can do better.
"There are some facilities in North America that have gotten better than 5.5 million."
Areas for improvement are centred on human performance and making sure every job gets done right the first time, said Mr. Pasquet.
That's going to be especially important in 2010 with the scheduled vacuum building outage which will require all six reactors at Pickering A and B to go offline. The project will require 1,900 additional employees in Pickering and will include more than 40,000 tasks. The preparation for the project has been underway for years.
"The best way to perform these outages successfully is through meticulous planning," said Mr. Pasquet.
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